January 31, 2019
Richard Stevens:
High temperature was 50 degrees. Winds were 5-6 mph with gusts to 11 mph.
Around noon, I stopped at Bluff Lake Nature Area (Denver County). The flock of White-crowned Sparrows wintering here with a Harris's Sparrow was not found today.
I found one sparrow along the east side trail among the rabbit brush behind the maintenance building. Unfortunately, the look was so brief that a proper ID was not possible.
Its back was toward me and its head was never observed. Overall, I thought the streaks on the back were duller brown (White-crowned) than blackish (Harris's). The tail appeared to short and size a bit small for a Harris's. However, I wanted to make sure.
The sparrow stayed deep in one bush while I continued to watch for 15 minutes. I dislike missing an ID and decided to give it 30 minutes.
Just before the self-imposed time limit, a second sparrow flew into a nearby bush. This was less shy and stayed on the outer edges. It was clearly a Song Sparrow. Watching the Song Sparrow kept my interest and I decided to stay for another 30 minutes.
At 55 minutes, the mystery sparrow emerged long enough to ID it was a juvenile White-crowned Sparrow.
My next stop was Star K Ranch (Adams County). The majority bird here was Northern Flicker.
A snipe flew up from the pond in the Wildlife Area. After 15 minutes or so, it was relocated and turned out to be a Wilson's Snipe.
I wanted to confirm the ID since two American Woodcocks have been found within 3 miles. Star K Ranch (1/1/2005) and Coal Creek Regional Greenway (10/16/2016).
No Short-eared Owls appeared when I parked at 88th avenue & 470 toll road 30 minutes either side of sunset.
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